


Through the Grapevine

by RadioFalls



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: A Varity of Random Made Up Characters, BillDip, Body Possession, Bullying, F/F, F/M, Generally Just Older Residents, High School AU, Human!Bill, M/M, Mabelcifica, May Get Progressivly Worse, Mentions of blood and gore, Possessive Behavior, Social Anxiety, Supernatural Stuff Still Happens, Teenage!Dipper, Teenage!Mabel, Unhealthy Relationships, Yandere Boyfriendo, mentions of suicide and self-harm, minor depression, slight stockholm syndrome, will add more tags later
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-08
Updated: 2015-11-12
Packaged: 2018-04-30 14:05:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,151
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5166584
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RadioFalls/pseuds/RadioFalls
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>[ ON HIATUS ]</p><p>Dipper and Mabel are new in town, their parents forcing them to move while they work through a divorce. The introverted male struggles with making friends in Gravity Falls High and finds it even harder after a certain Junior takes interest in him. Sure, it's nice to have at least one friend, but the guy is just plain creepy.</p><p>And... oddly familiar.</p><p> ----------------</p><p>A Gravity Falls AU where Bill decides to inhabit a body so he can experience the most hilarious pain he could think of: high school. The twins are sent to the town for the first time when they're 15, right before school starts, instead of when they're 12 and right when summer begins. Primarily BillDip with potential background hints of MabelCifica. Mature content later on.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue: Welcome to Gravity Falls

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is my first attempt at writing a fanfic ever. So, it may start out kind of slow-paced and awkward as I get into the hang of it. I have lots of ideas running through my mind and hopefully I can get them all out on paper. Or computer. Or whatever.
> 
> I'm pretty much going to be writing Bill as a possessive, manipulative jerk and Dipper as a teen with bad social anxiety so if either of those things bother you in any way, be warned. Also, I guess over time Dipper's relationship with Bill will grow into something that's like a toned down version of stockholm syndrome.
> 
> Dipper's going to be 15 in the story and Bill will be 17-ish (or at least in a 17 year old body), so I guess underage but not really.
> 
> I may end up writing smut either in this story or seperate from it. If I do, the tags are probably going to be insane with warnings. I want KINKY STUFF. NO SHAME.
> 
> Anyways, I read over my chapters like three times before posting to find any errors, but if there are still some that slip through please write a comment so I can fix it!
> 
> I hope everyone who reads this enjoys. -RadioFalls

This _sucked_.

Everything about this absolutely and completely sucked.

Not only had the two _just last week_ heard from their parents that they’re getting a divorce, the bickering couple also decided to throw in that the twins were being forcibly moved to a small, unheard of Oregon town called Gravity Falls while they “sorted things out.”

Though Dipper knew it was just an excuse to get the teens away from them.

The boy sighed, placing his chin in the palm of his hand as he looked out of the bus window, nothing but pine trees flying by for what felt like hours. An insufferable amount of questions ran through the teen’s head. How long would they be there? Were they going to stay in one place the whole time? Would they have to go through all of highschool here? Would they get along with the other students? Would they get along with their great uncle? Would they get along with anyone? He stopped his train of thought for a moment to glance over at his twin sister, her eyes wide and sparkling as she jumped from seat to seat on the empty bus. She watched with awe as birds and critters she had never seen before flew by, squealing every now and then about “omigosh look how cute its wittle face is!” A wide smile was spread across her face, revealing a flawless white set of teeth with recently removed braces. Ever since his sister got them removed her smile seemed to glow even brighter than it did before - charming anyone, no matter age or gender, with ease.

Dipper, on the other hand, was not so blessed.

Heavy bags were nearly tattooed under his eyes, several nights without sleep being a common occurrence for him. Even when he _did_ properly rest the bags would not go away and he feared he would be stuck with them for the rest of his life. That, paired with his short height (that Mabel had to constantly reassure would change during high school) and his awkward demeanor made it hard for him to form any sort of relationship with a girl of his liking. Or guy. Or anyone.

Another sigh escaped his lips as he thought back to the questions running through his mind before, answering the last one with ease. Would they get along with anyone? His sister definitely would. Him, however… it was going to be rough.

Once again he shifted his view to out of the window, surprised to see that instead of the trees that plagued his vision for hours, there was a small town in the distance. A large waterfall was the first thing he noticed near it, then afterwards the highly suspended train tracks, the water tower with a red… _muffin_ spraypainted on it, and then lastly the peculiar shape of the giant cracks in the two mountains that held the train tracks together.

This was Gravity Falls.

This… was their new home.

Dipper sighed one last time before his sister practically threw herself at him, flopping her back onto his lap and squealing. “We’re HERE!” she screamed at the top of her lungs, causing her little brother to cringe just slightly. Even after being with her for 14 years he couldn’t find himself getting used to the volume and pitch of her excited squeaks. He stuck his pinky in his ear and scratched before putting on a forced smile and nodding.

“Yeah, seems like this is the place,” his eyes scanned the area repeatedly, taking in the scenery and setting. “Looks pretty small compared to Piedmont.”

“But don’t you get it, Dip?” she clenched her fists and threw her legs into the air in a manner of excitement. “That’s the charm! A small town means a small community! A small community means closer people!” she threw herself up to a seated position and then turned to her brother, her long curly hair smacking the back of the seat in front of them as it flipped, “And closer people means closer friends!”

He couldn’t help but wonder where all of her optimism came from. Maybe she sucked it out of others as they slept? Like an… optimism vampire or something?

Dipper smiled at the thought of his sister sporting fangs, only to bite and suck something that was probably pink and sparkley from people. It seemed _very_ Mabel.

“Can’t counter that logic,” the brown haired boy finally replied with a shrug, turning his head to look down at her though his body stayed facing toward the window. “Although… aren’t you worried that it’s going to be harder for us to fit in since everyone’s going to have known each other since childhood?” He waved his hands in a circular motion as he talked, emphasizing the need for worry.

Mabel scoffed and looked up, flicking her hand downwards as she did so. “As _if_ little bro. They’re probably going to think we’re some kind of celebrities or something!” she gasped and slapped both of her hands on her cheeks. “What if everyone thinks we’re famous and asks for our autographs?” she gaped once more. “What if _cute boys_ think we’re famous and ask for our autographs?!” she gasped one more time. “What if _cute boys_ think we’re famous and ask for US?”

“Mabel, I don’t think any boy is going to ask for me over you-- wait, wait, that’s not the point. I don’t want any boys to ask for me. You know I like Lizzy.” A face flashed through Dipper’s mind as he spoke her name. Elizabeth had been one of the most liked girls at their middle school, even more liked than Mabel, which was an incredible feat on its own. Her hair was long, curly, and voluminous, sporting a platinum blonde that only highlighted the bright blue color of her large, doll-like eyes. Her skin was pale and practically sparkled in the sunlight, resembling some sort of creature the boy felt he read about once in one of his sister’s cheesy romance novels. If he didn’t know any better he’d say that she was some sort of magical being… though the existence of such things was preposterous. But somehow… with her being beautiful, smart, and one of the kindest people he had ever met, the possibility of her being some otherworldly being didn’t seem so farfetched.

“Ugh, I know how hard you’re crushing on my bestie, but this is a great opportunity for you to get over her! Maybe you’ll actually get some sleep instead of staying up all night writing poems about her in your dumb notebooks.”

Dipper snapped back into reality at his sister’s last comment, his face turning a bright shade of red before he gave his flustered reply. “Y-You know about that?!”

Mabel laughed through her nose and rose her hand to flick her brother’s forehead playfully. “Well duh. Your light is always on and I can hear your pen clicking even from my room. Of course I’d figure out what you’ve been doing. You know you can’t keep any secrets from me,” she poked his cheek repeatedly as he scrunched up his face in frustration, “plus you’re not very good at hiding things. I mean gosh Dip, under your pillow? Even my diary is hidden better than that.”

He looked at her in surprise. “You... you keep a diary? How did I not know about it?”

“Guess I’m better at keeping secrets than you are bro-bro! It’s not like I don’t tell you everything that I would write in it anyways.”

Before Dipper could respond, the bus came to an abrupt stop and the loud rumbling of the bus finally halted. Although the twins were the only passengers, the bus driver took his microphone and announced over the speakers, “Gravity Falls, we have arrived at Gravity Falls. Make sure you double check under your seats and all around you to not forget anything. Or don’t. I never mind getting free stuff.”

Nodding simultaneously in agreement, Dipper and Mabel gathered all of their belongings, checking under the seats and in every seat surrounding them for any leftover stuff before stepping off the bus to stand in front of an old, rustic looking house that had the words “Mystery _hack” on the side. Upon further inspection, the male twin noticed that the S had been knocked over and was lying upside down on the roof, and although it looked like an easy fix, maybe their great uncle just hadn’t found time to do it? Their mom _did_ tell the twins that Stan was a very busy man and constantly ran tours in order to keep things running. Dipper shrugged at his conclusion and proceeded to join his sister who had immediately ran up to the front door and knocked harshly on the wood. An audible groan and a few loud footsteps later, the door opened, and what met the two was a sight for sore eyes.

Instead of the suit he wore for tours - which is what he was wearing in every picture of him that their parents showed the twins - he was sporting a sweat covered, yellowing wife beater that curved at his belly and fell atop of a crusty old pair of boxers. He wore large blue slippers that had holes in various places, his foot hair peeking out of them along with a putrid odor. On his head was a dark red fez with a strange… fish-like symbol in yellow plastered smack in the middle. In his right hand was a cane with an 8-ball glued on it, and in his left hand was a remote controller that looked like it came straight out of the 1980’s.

Ah yes. This was their classy great uncle Stan.

“Grunkle Stan!” Mabel yelled out, raising both of her hands in the air before hugging the mass that stood hunched over in front of her. The old man’s face showed a look of surprise, then turned into a weird sort of compassion as he pat her back awkwardly. Mabel was always the type to greet strangers as if she’d known them their whole life, and although it was always weird for the other party at first they always found themselves sucked into her aura of friendliness and cheer. Just another thing that reassured Dipper that his sister would have no problem fitting in.

“Right… Madel, was it? And… uh… Dlipper?” The old man held his left arm up, reading some chicken scratch written in blue ink on it, though the ink was smeared with what was probably a mixture of sweat and coffee.

_‘Great. He didn’t even bother learning our names.’_

“Actually, it’s Mabel and Dipper, Grunkle Stan.” Dipper corrected aloud.

“Of course it is! That’s what I said, wasn’t it?” Stan watched as the boy shook his head. “Well… sorry. This old head of mine doesn’t seem to work like it used to. Comes with age, I guess!” He laughed heartily twice before slapping his knee and wiping his eye as if he just told the world’s most hilarious joke. Neither twin seemed to find the humor in it, but Mabel laughed sincerely anyways. “Anyways, come on in kids, the attic has two beds in it and I had Soos clean the place up like a week ago. Should be all nice and ready for you!”

The twins looked at each other once, different thoughts running through their heads when they heard they’d be staying in the attic. Mabel, being the super optimist that she was (it was nearly a superpower) thought of the situation as some sort of new adventure. Maybe there would be bats in the attic! Bats were just one of her several hundred favorite animals. Dipper, on the other hand, just groaned. He knew there would be dust on everything, his allergies would act up, the beds would likely be too small, and there wouldn’t be enough space to accommodate the both of them. Between the boy’s giant collection of books and journals and the girl’s army of art supplies, he knew the room would be cramped and uncomfortable for the duration of their stay.

“Maybe there’s another place we can keep all of our stuff?” Mabel added as they traveled up the stairs together, lugging a few bags of their belongings behind them. “I mean, this place is a sort of museum or something, right? Surely there’s storage space _somewhere_.”

When the two reached the outside of their room for the third time - having to go back downstairs after each trip to grab more of their belongings since Stan claimed he was ‘too old’ to be lifting those sorts of things - the duo finally got a chance to open the door to their room and evaluate. It was a quaint little area that ended up having more space than Dipper was expecting, to his pleasant surprise. After taking a few steps into the room the boy turned around to see even more space atop an elevated area with shotty boards nailed onto the nearby wooden beam to act as a ladder. The room even had a closet large enough to fit a person or two in it. Perhaps even some sort of… invisible wizard.

‘ _Not sure where that idea came from_ ,’ Dipper noted to himself, the awfully Mabel-like thought surprising him. ‘Anyways…’

Setting one final bag down next to his bed (or what he now claimed as his bed), the boy flopped onto the mattress and let out a loud, extended groan in an attempt to get all of his frustration out in one go. A few seconds later his sister joined on her side of the room, and together they laid face first in mucky sheets and groaned in harmony. The room fell in silence afterwards, only the chirping of birds being heard alongside the gentle hum of the air conditioner that cooled the house. The boy was left alone with his own thoughts, though only one ran through his mind.

This was going to be a long year.

 

\-- ZHOFRPH WR JUDYLWB IDOOV --

_(WELCOME TO GRAVITY FALLS)_

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For any of those who are interested, this is how I envision the main trio as I write.
> 
> http://radiofalls.tumblr.com/image/132648224025
> 
> I may doodle one or two things per chapter but for now this is all I have.
> 
> Also, Bill will be in the next chapter (if it goes according to plan) which I should have up by tomorrow.


	2. "Who the heck is Landon Pines?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Introducing Bill this chapter! And Fabio, like from those romance novels you were always a bit worried about seeing your mother read.
> 
> As I write, there are going to be lots of random names, some familiar and some unfamiliar. The unfamiliar ones are all going to be random characters I wrote in for the sake of world building. Thank you to all of my friends that let me borrow the names and faces of their characters so I didn't have to sit and make up 30-some people.
> 
> Another note, I tend to use a LOT of itallics when I write. They're just so handy. I abuse them. No regrets!
> 
> I'm going to try to keep each chapter above to 3000 word mark, though they're obviously going to fluctuate due to the flow of my writing and what I plan for the chapter. This one's like, 4200 or something.

It had been a two months since the 15 year old twins had moved to Gravity Falls, and boy had it been far more adventure filled than either of them could anticipate. Only after a few days of being there, Dipper had found a hidden journal that contained information about creatures he never even thought possible to exist. The information proved to be extremely useful when Mabel, swooning over every guy she met, ended up dating someone who her brother originally thought to be a zombie, but ended up being a series of gnomes. After that they were taken on a fishing trip and hunted down the mighty ‘Gobblewonker,’ which disappointingly ended up being Old Man McGucket operating a giant robot with his beard. Wax sculptures come to life, an encounter with a creepy middle schooler named Gideon, a haunted convenience store… everything was such a weird and sometimes life-threatening experience but somehow, Dipper found himself looking forward to each new day. Every time something weird happened he wouldn’t hesitate to investigate it. He loved throwing himself into adventure and danger, not knowing what would happen next or what creature he would find. He’d never been so passionate about something in his life.

But, to his dismay, he knew that after today he wouldn’t have the free time to enjoy the anomalies anymore. Today was his and Mabel’s birthday, which meant tomorrow…

School.

He groaned to himself at even the thought of returning to the place he dreaded the most. Even amongst the crowd of dancing people and strobe lights - Mabel really did know how to throw a party - he felt himself distracted by his own negatives thoughts. School had never been a good place for the boy, people constantly giving him shit about his appearance and dorkiness, and although he wasn’t the _smartest_ student he was still considered a nerd since his face was constantly in some sort of book, whether a detective novel or his notebook of the week. Dipper knew that it wouldn’t be any better at Gravity Falls High. Not only was he going to be freshmeat, he was also a stranger to most people in the town and those who _did_ know him probably knew him as the “weird kid who’s always hunting monsters or some shit over by the Mystery Shack.” Sure, he had already made kind of sort of friends with Wendy’s group, but they were seniors and probably weren’t going to be as friendly to him in school as they were out of it.

The boy looked over at his sister, sporting a bright pink sweater that fell over one of her shoulders to reveal a tank top she was wearing underneath it. She was doing the worm on the ground, everyone in the room rooting for her to be the life of the party. Which… she was. Almost effortlessly so. Sure, it was her and Dipper’s birthday, but he knew that even if it wasn’t their own party the results would be the same. He sighed and leaned his back against a wall, taking a single sip from his _Mixie_ cup half filled with his sister’s weird mixture of fruit punch, orange juice, and Pitt Cola.

His original plan was to do what he always did - cling to his sister in a desperate attempt to have some sort of social life. Back in Piedmont it was easy since they’d known everyone from an early age, but here it was different. Mabel was loved by everyone in town and Dipper was like the unwanted add-on in the “buy one get one free” deals on TV. He knew he couldn’t bring her down. Sure, at first she’d probably complain about his introversion and try to get him some friends, but deep down he knew she’d get sucked into her own friendships and they would eventually drift apart from each other.

‘ _I mean, come on. We’ve been here for two months and she’s already slept over Candy and Grenda’s houses like, 18 times._ ’

“Why the long face, dude?” A voice from behind called to Dipper, knocking him out of his trance. This seemed to be a pretty common occurrence for him nowadays. The boy turned his head up to meet the eyes of his probably best friend, Soos, stood next to him with a plate full of snacks and a cup filled to the brim with Mabel’s special fizzy juice mixture.

“Just worried about school,” Dipper replied grimly.

“Oh, okay, just that? I thought you were upset about all the food mysteriously disappearing off the table.” Soos shifted awkwardly, looking carefully at either side of him before stuffing a fistful of assorted snacks into his mouth. “Which is totally weird and totally not related to me in any way.”

The shorter - _much_ shorter - boy laughed. At least he had one friend here. “I’ll stay quiet about it if you do, Soos,” he responded with a bit of cheer. Then, as if reminded of all his previous thoughts, he sighed once more and looked down into his cup. “I’m just worried that the people here are going to treat me worse than they did back at home. Which, by the way, was already pretty bad. But it was easy to get over cause Mabel always right by my side. And now…” he stuck one hand out and gestured over to his sister who was stood upon their makeshift stage and singing her heart out to “ _Downtown Funk_ ,” the crowd screaming at the top of their lungs. “Now, she’s enjoying her freedom. She loves sleeping over at her friend’s houses. She loves going to the high school parties she’s been getting constant invites to. She loves…” his face grimaced before he finished, “she loves being free of me.”

Soos just stood, staring at Dipper, unable of what to say. So he didn’t say anything. He just stuck his free arm out and pat his little friend’s back reassuringly, food stuffed in his cheeks reminiscent of a hamster. They stood in silence until the song ended.

After Mabel finished belting she announced the end of the party and the crowd cried out before dispersing, knowing they needed to get home and rest up for tomorrow. She hopped off the stage, ran up to her brother, then gave him a big hug that broke the silence between him and Soos. “That was so much fun, bro! And that was only our fifteeth birthday! Can you even imagine what our sixteenth will be like?!” He could. It would pretty much be the same thing, except with more people for Dipper to avoid talking to.

“Y-Yeah,” he stuttered, attempting to hide his unhappiness from his gleaming sister, “It was lots of fun. And this punch you made is awesome. Took a bit of getting used to… but awesome nonetheless.”

She grinned and accepted his response before running off once again to join Candy and Grenda, who spontaneously decided they were both going to spend the night and that the three of them could go to school together the next day. ‘ _Great. Now I won’t be able to get any sleep_ ,’ Dipper thought, though he knew he wouldn’t get any regardless of if the girls stayed over. He’d probably end up lying in bed all night with his eyes locked onto the ceiling, agonizing about what he would experience after the sun rose. Now he gets to do that over the sound of inconsistent squealing over boys, makeup, and whatever else girls of their age found interesting. Which was everything.

“Well, I gotta get going, dude. Good luck tomorrow,” Soos stated before giving Dipper one last pat on the back and walking away. The brunette was left alone with his own thoughts, cup empty and mind full.

“I’m going to need way more than luck.”

 

* * *

 

The hallways were jam packed with students chattering, not a care in the world about how much space they were taking with their little circles of friends. There was about 10 minutes before the bell starting first period would ring, so the teens all took the time to catch up with those they may not have talked to for a while (which was highly unlikely seeing as the town was so small they all saw each other practically every day.)

The school was surprisingly large, split up into four primary sections: the first floor west wing that had the freshman lockers, english, and math classrooms, the second floor west wing that had the sophomore lockers, history, and AP classrooms, the first floor east wing that had the junior lockers, art, and language classrooms, and then the second floor east wing that had the science classrooms along with any class that didn’t fit into the above categories. Just north of the four wings was a large cafeteria area that lead to three different places: on the west side the gym, on the east side the theater, and on the north side the food court and doors leading to an outdoor seating area. On practically every door and window was a small image of the school mascot, Bucky Beaver, all of them colored differently than the primary mural on the floor of the school’s main intersection. The entire area reeked of a variety of perfumes, body sprays, sweat, mold, and a scent Dipper could only classify as being “teen angst mixed with regret and uncontrollable hormones.” Also, some spotty areas had the faint scent of blood, but the boy didn’t bother looking any further into that.

“Ah, high school! We’re finally here,” Mabel smiled, arms spread wide open as if she were about to hug the air itself. She took in a deep breath to fully take in the moment but immediately began to cough after a boy with way too much _Ask_ body spray walked by. “ _Ka-Keh-KaHEM_!” she coughed, clearing her throat and air passageways. “Anyways,” she turned to her brother who was watching her silently with tired, lidded mocha eyes. “We better find our lockers and figure out where our classrooms are. It sucks that Grunkle Stan slept in and we ended up running late. But hey! I think the lockers are assigned by alphabetical order so at least we’ll be next to each other!”

With that hope in mind the twins made their way over to their lockers, their nameplates installed into the doors and-- well. Of course.

“Who the heck is Landon Pines?” Mabel asked in disbelief, staring at the single locker that separated the twins from each other. “Do… do you think we have a long lost brother or something? That would be _awesome_!”

Dipper sighed and shook his head, pinching the bridge of his nose as he did. “No, Mabel. We just got unlucky enough that there just happens to be someone with the same last name, the first letter of their first name just happens to be in between ours, and they just happen to be in the same grade as us.” He stuck both of his arms out, gesturing to the locker that almost seemed to mock him. “How does this sort of thing just _happen_ , though? What are the odds of that? It’s like someone has it out for us! Did I kick a puppy or something in my sleep?” He groaned. “What did I do to deserve this…”

The brunette turned to look at his sister in an attempt to share sympathy, but her eyes were wide and locked onto a tall boy walking their way with long, wavy blonde hair. The unique green in his eyes stood out even from across the hallway, and the flawlessness of his skin seemed to make the nearby girls pale in comparison. He walked, no, _strode_ over to the siblings, giving Dipper a quick glance and Mabel a seductive grin before nodding his head and opening his locker. _The_ locker. The one that was oh so conveniently separating Dipper from his only friend and lifeline.

“Why, helloooo~ there~ gorgeous~” Mabel swooned, leaning onto her own locker and isolating Landon in her own wild imagination.

He smiled at her before closing his locker, a thick English 1 textbook in his even thicker arms. “And hello to you too, beautiful. To whom do I owe the pleasure?” The male’s accent was thick and dreamy, being some sort ideal combination between a french and australian one. How that was possible and why such a person would be in Gravity Falls, Dipper had no idea.

“ _My_ name is Mabel, but you can call me the girl of yours dreams~”

He chuckled and edged closer to her, causing the girl’s face to flush a bright red and her heartbeat to accelerate. “I do believe I saw a princess in my dream once,” he replied, “and her face looked an awful lot like yours. Mabel… what a charming name.”

She swooned. Dipper groaned.

"Come on Mabel, we don’t have the time for this,” the boy interrupted with a voice of irritation. Like hell was he going to let some random dreamboat that came straight out of a romance novel take his sister away within minutes of them being there. “We gotta grab our stuff and get going.” He opened his locker, grabbed his English 1 book, then slammed it shut. After his sister did the same (all while keeping her eye contact locked with her new “soulmate”), he grabbed her by the wrist and forcefully dragged her away. Unaware of what was happening, she simply waved at the foreigner and gave a sigh of heart.

It took the both of them a few minutes, but by the time the twins found their classroom and sat themselves down the bell was 2 ticks away from ringing. Mabel, still not recovered from her encounter, simply sat and stared off into space with who knows what kind of thoughts running through her head. Her eyes were lidded as she daydreamed and Dipper couldn’t help but groan in disgust. Normally, since he was so used to her daily crushes, the boy could easily ignore the whole thing only to be bothered about it the next day, but he knew this crush would last for more than a while. With ‘Mister Hot and Dreamy’ being the pair’s locker neighbor he could guarantee that every day for the rest of the year (or at least the semester) his sister would spend the time to swoon and fawn in between every class.

And… oh god. Not only then, but now, too.

The brunette watched as an uncomfortably familiar face stepped into the class, every girl turning their head to swoon in a collective “ _Aaaah~_ ” with his sister not excluded. Fabio - no, sorry, _Landon_ \- immediately recognized the long, curly brown head of hair of Mabel and smiled, taking the seat next to her on the side her brother wasn’t.

“It seems we are connected by the red string of fate, Miss Mabel,” he started, long legs poking out of the side of the desk since they couldn’t comfortably fit the way they were supposed to. His accent seemed to be thicker than before, as if trying to put out an extra _oomph_ of charm. His interest in the girl was more obvious than the abs that peeked through his v-neck.

Mabel giggled in response, responding with some sappy line Dipper recognized as being a quote from the _Trylight_ series. Not that he actually read the books. He’d just had to listen in on his sister and her friends reading it aloud so many times he practically had the thing memorized.

The male twin gently slammed his head onto his desk, groaning under his breath with his fists clenched in anger. Not even 15 minutes into his high school year and his sister had already been swept off of her feet away from him. As he sat he tuned out the conversations happening around him, ranging from “no no, _you’re_ the cute one” to “and then I punched it straight in the face!” to “do you think jacket makes me look bad? Ha! Just kidding. I look good no matter what I wear.” The last voice was familiar, and he recognized it as being a familiar blonde haired girl with way too much makeup for her age. Pacifica Northwest.

And all of his pains and frustrations just rolled together.

The next 45 minutes were pure agony.

 

* * *

 

“Hey Bill, check out the hottie over there,” a tall and black haired teen pointed down the long hallway that bled into the west wing with all of the freshman. The teen named Naname, whose friends all addressed him as “Goku” (due to his last name, and he _hated_ the nickname) wore a wide grin as he glanced the girl he was eyeballing up and down. His upper teeth bit down on his lower lip as he tilted his head to look behind a random kid who had blocked his view of his new prey. “I swear, each year the girls get hotter and hotter. It’s like they _want_ to be ravaged within a week of being here.”

The taller teen he was talking to scoffed, nearly disgusted with the girl-crazy behavior of the individual he had the displeasure of addressing as his “friend.” William Cipher, or Bill as he was commonly addressed, stood with his locker open, a mirror hanging from its side with a little basket connected to the bottom half of it that was filled with a variety of black eyeliners and mascaras. He would commonly use the break in between his classes to touch up on his makeup and to make sure his eyelashes were thick and separated, a look he was keen to for as long as he could remember. Which was a really, really long time. “If you could go _five fucking minutes,_ ” he responded, being sure not to move his head as he talked and worked on his upper row of lashes, “without telling me about your desperate need to stick your dick in something… well, that would be just great.” Bill quickly finished his bottom row as well before screwing the mascara brush back into its bottle, grabbing his Latin textbook, and closing the locker gently. The day was moving by quickly, already the third period out of seven, and he was excited to head to a class he knew he could laze around in due to his fluentness in the dead language.

Naname rolled his eyes and groaned at his “friend’s” predictable response. “Are you even a teenager, Cipher?” He asked mockingly, well knowing the answer to his question and slamming his locker shut after grabbing a single notebook and a pack of cigarettes. Sure, he wasn’t supposed to have them on him, but hell if he cared. “I swear, for you being the thing that you are, you have like, zero sex drive. Aren’t you guys supposed to be like… lustful or some shit? The seven sins and all that jazz.”

“Contrary to popular belief, _Goku_ ,” he made sure to enunciate, the black haired teen’s hated nickname sparking a slight of anger within him. Naname hated being compared to or called by the same name as that overrated cartoon character that everyone loved oh so much. “We don’t just go around fucking everyone we see. Sure, our lust is stronger than yours but we are able to contain ourselves. Unlike your kind, we are patient. We wait until we find someone compatible and then release ourselves to our liking with them.”

“Yeah, yeah, we’re impatient, we’re horny, we’re the scum of the earth, blah, blah. I’ve heard all of that shit before.” They moved together down the crowded hallway, every teen in their way jumping to be less so, fear in their eyes as the two passed by together. Well, not particularly the two. Just the one.

Bill always found amusement in the reactions of those around him. Sure, he’d cracked a few skulls, broken a few bones, and even dismembered the limbs of others who angered him, but was that really all that bad? Was that really enough to warrant this much fear?

He laughed. Of course it was! Humans were pathetic, too weak to fend for themselves and too cowardly to fend for others. _Especially_ high schoolers.

The demon thought back to when he had started this whole fiasco. Ten… twenty years ago? Out of the blue he had decided to try out this whole “high schooler” thing he had heard so much about through movies and books he happened to come across. Out of all the people he had made deals with, the most amusing and pathetic ones came from those of teens. “I want Carlo to like me back,” or “I wanna be the most popular dude in school,” or “I want my skin to be flawless.” They had come across a being of immeasurable power, one who could bend the very fabric of time and reality of he pleased, and they asked for _that_ petty shit? How hilarious! They were too obsessed with their own appearance and their own primal needs to satisfy themselves that they just passed an opportunity of a lifetime!

After one particular deal that a 15 year old made with Bill, he just knew he had to try living it himself.

The kid didn’t ask for much. He just wanted a “successful four years of school.” It was easy enough at first, Bill just had to alter the kid’s appearance slightly, raise his intelligence just a smidgen, and amp his charisma far more than the other two variables, but the hardest part was keeping it all up. As the teen grew, he would constantly mess things up around him. He’d fail a test after partying, he’d gotten a girl pregnant, he’d been found drunk during one of his classes, and started to gain hatred from those around him, getting himself beaten to a pulp after sleeping with one girl who was _supposedly_ single, but obviously not so as his broken nose reminded him. Eventually all of the hatred and hormones caught up to the teen and he ended up taking his own life before paying the debt that he owed to the demon. Which was unacceptable.

As per contract rules, if the human does not deliver their side of the deal before a certain period of time passed (the amount of time varied depending on the terms of the deal), his or her body, mind, life, and soul would be free for the taking. So, that’s exactly what Bill did.

The body wasn’t dead for long - only about five minutes, which was the perfect amount of time for this procedure. The (at the time) floating triangle grabbed the fractured soul of the human and forced it out of the body before carefully slipping his own into it. At first, all he could feel was a hilarious amount of pain, blood dripping down his wrists and into a tub filled to the brim with water, almost overflowing due to the amount of time it had been running, but he quickly healed it up with a burst of blue flame, power coming from the soul he had just consumed. After healing the body and adjusting to the clunkiness and limitations of it, Bill proceeded to alter the appearance just a bit more to his own liking. The right side of the dark brown shaved head grew to around chin length and the chunk of hair dyed itself a yellow too bright to be called blonde, which was then swept to the side of his face to cover his eye of now inverted color. Sure, he could have full usage of both his eyes, but he had grown so used to his mono eye that it felt almost strange to use a second one. His skin, already tanned golden dark like how he preferred it to be back in his pharaoh days, smoothed out and removed any blemishes or scars the body previously had. His ears had already been pierced preferably, him edging the human onto it due to his plan in motion, his left revealed ear having 5 holes trailing up the side, though none of them had anything in them as of now. Bill looked at himself in the mirror, evaluating his changes before adding the final touch: burning a bright gold color into the single revealed iris.

“Not too shabby, if I do say so myself,” he noted, wide grin plastered on his face as he spun and checked himself out. Long legs, thin torso, wide and pointed shoulders, and a brilliantly beautiful head on top of it all. Perfect! Now, he just had to alter a few memories in order for everything to fall into its place. “Now… time to go see what this high school thing is all about.”

And ever since then, Bill couldn’t help but stick around in the building filled with crazing hormones and uncontrollable emotions. Every time he graduated - which was what, 4 times now? 5? - he would reset the memories of those around him, dispose of any physical evidence of his existence, update his legal documents, and start it all over again. Never in his long life had he found a place filled with so much amusement and hilarity, and there was no way something like “graduation” was going to stop him from living it out.

 

\-- GRXEOH, GRXEOH, WRLO DQG WURXEOH.  --

_(DOUBLE, DOUBLE, TOIL AND TROUBLE.)_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another random doodle of my envisioned Bill.
> 
> http://40.media.tumblr.com/1121a44a527623f709b69f8ea7737174/tumblr_nxf830DF5i1ukvvcqo1_400.png
> 
> He's pretty much always gunna be wearing semi-formal clothing, since constant suit wearing is kind of strange and out of place. Though... I don't really think he'd care if people thought it was weird. Maybe I'll make him wear a suit one day. Hmm.


	3. "Good morning, students. I'm your teacher, Tad Strange."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just wanna say thank you to all of those who have bookmarked, kudo'd, and commented on this work. It really brings a warm feeling to my heart to know that there are people who actually enjoy reading this. ;u; I'll try to pump out a chapter at least once or twice a week, but no promises or set schedule since university can be kind of random with assignments.
> 
> Bill is finally introduced in this chapter and he's a big pain in the ass, though I may not have made that clear enough.  
> Don't worry though. It'll totally happen. He'll get worse. I'm excited as hell.

Ah, Latin. Dipper had always looked forward to learning another language, Latin definitely being at the top of his list, and when him and his sister signed up for classes he was ecstatic to see it as an option alongside spanish, french, and oddly enough, japanese. Although he would have much preferred their schedules to be exactly the same throughout the day, the male twin knew his sister would _not_ stand for taking that “geek language” and instead signed up for spanish, which she claimed could be used to “pick up tons of hot guys.”

The young Pines went through their lockers, readying themselves for the second of only two classes they took seperately. Their schedule was pretty much exactly the same except for second period in which Mabel took Drama and Dipper took photography, and third period being their chosen language courses. Other than that they both had English 1, Algebra 1, Gym, Lunch, Biology, and Social Studies together. Dipper was definitely glad they had been assigned the same lunch (the split being supposedly random) and for the first time felt as if the odds were working in his favor instead of against it.

After grabbing their books the siblings made their way across the school to the hallway filled with Juniors, shifting awkwardly through all of the much taller and more aggressive looking teens. As they walked, Dipper felt a heavy hit against his shoulder that caused him to wince slightly in pain, but before he could make a statement about it a cold sensation went down his spine. He looked up slowly at the person who had bumped into him, a bright yellow head of hair standing out above all else. The source was glaring back at him as if _he_ was the one who was inconvenienced by the collision. The boy froze.

Although they only made eye contact for about two seconds before the other looked away to resume his conversation with his black haired friend, the situation was overwhelmingly frightening. Dipper stood still in the crowded hall, goosebumps littering his skin and his knees shaking ever so slightly. As if to steady himself, he held his textbook close to his chest, knuckles white from his grip. Why did he feel so scared? Why did he feel as if he just got dirt on a king’s shoulder? Why did he feel like scum just for existing? It was as if he was a gazelle that just stumbled into a lion’s den, the glare of the blonde resembling that of a predator about to hunt. And _kill_.

“You okay, Dip-dop?” His sister asked with a hint of concern threaded in her otherwise cheerful voice, “You look like you just saw a ghost.”

Catching his senses, he nodded once before responding. “Uh, y-yeah, I’m fine. Just got a weird chill is all. That guy who ran into me was kind of intimidating for some reason. It’s nothing though.”

She looked at him for a few seconds with a crease in her brow that quickly turned back into a wide grin. “Well, alright then! As long as you’re a-okay, I’ll be on my a-o-way.” A giggle. “I’m so great at rhymes. See you in a bit, bro!” And with that she nudged her brother’s shoulder, laughed, then skipped into her assigned classroom. The boy walked alone just a tad further into the hallway before finding the one at the very end that’s number plate matched the one on his printed schedule.

The classroom was small, definitely the smallest of his classes so far, and as if to accentuate the size there were only two other students who sat on opposite sides of the room. Dipper evaluated his seating options, eyeing the spots next to the two individuals. Near the front, in the spot closest to the teacher’s desk was someone who appeared to be sophomore age, thick glasses on his face and head buried into an Advanced Calculus textbook. The other student sat furthest away from the desk sat with his legs on the table in front of him and a thick pair _Beets by May_ headphones covering his ears. The brunette definitely didn’t want to sit next to either of them, taking a spot near the middle as in between the two as he could get.

After about three minutes, six more people decided to pour in right before the bell rang. A young, awkward looking redhead was first, followed by two jocks who were shoving each other as they entered. An asian student with uncomfortably long hair walked in with his friend: a blonde girl with a stylish pixie cut and pink, blue, and purple highlights. Fashionable. After the five students a tall and older man entered, presumably the teacher, his black hair slicked back neatly and his attire being almost too normal compared to other teachers in the school. Heck, too normal compared to other people in the town. He wore a _normal_ short sleeved white button-up shirt with a _normal_ pressed black tie and _normal_ grey slacks, a _normal_ leather belt holding them up. His shoes, also normal, were shiny and black, giving at least a little bit of dimension to the individual who looked exactly like the background character of some tv show. But even so, somehow the more Dipper looked, the less normal the man looked. There was something off about him. Something a tad strange.

“Good morning, students. I’m your teacher, Tad Strange.”

Huh. Well, that’s an interesting coincidence.

Their teacher began to talk, his voice also deep and normal to no surprise as he explained a bit about the class, about the grading criteria, about the assignments, and about the tests. All of which were extremely normal. As he spoke the students all found themselves drifting away, nothing of interest to keep their attention until the audible words “seating chart” were spoken. Ugh. Seating charts were the absolute worst. They usually meant you’d have to sit uncomfortably close to someone you usually didn’t know, and uncomfortably far from those you did.

Mr. Strange pulled out a sheet of white paper that, curiously enough, didn’t have a single fold, crease, tear, or any sign of indention at all. It was almost unnaturally perfect. “Mister Garcia, you’ll sit here, Miss Derry will be sitting next to you.” He pointed as he talked, eyes glued on the paper. “Mister Jin, you’ll sit behind Mister Garcia, and Miss Green will be next to you. Over here will be Mister Frankentino, here is Mister Night, and Mister Pines, you’ll be right here.” Dipper nodded, moving accordingly to his seat that was thankfully near the back and closest to the door. The seat beside him was empty and he couldn’t help but feel a bit anxious about that for reasons unknown. “And finally, Mister… oh.” Tad cut himself off after reading the name to himself and shook his head in disapproval, knowing the student well enough to know he’d venture into class in a few moments, fashionably late. Then, the door opened.

Speak of the devil.

Dipper’s eyes widened as he watched the familiar, bright yellow head of hair peek into the class, a wide and playful grin plastered onto the face it belonged to.

“ _Mister Cipher_ ,” the teacher called out with a bite, irritation obvious in his voice though his physical expression showed no sign of it. “Glad you could join us. You know, most students are expected to be here on time.”

Bill laughed while stepping into the classroom, eyes quickly locking onto each face and stopping at Dipper’s for a few seconds longer. He looked back up at the teacher and simply grinned.

If there was a dictionary picture for “shit-eating grin,” it would definitely be this one.

“Come on Tad, it’s the first day of school. You know students get their classes mixed up all the time. Cut me a little slack?” His voice surprised Dipper; it was far higher pitched than he would have expected.

The teacher, glaring on the inside but neutral expression on the outside, shook his hand in a dismissive gesture. “Just take your seat next to Mister Pines. And please refrain from calling me by my first name, Mister Cipher.”

“Sure thing, _Tad_ ,” Bill remarked, his grin getting wider as he sat next to a boy who was quite obviously intimidated by him. Had he already heard the rumors? No, surely not, this student was definitely a freshman - and a teeny one, too. Unless he had been Gravity Falls for a long while there was no way he had already heard the threatening stories. So then, why was he already so scared…?

Oh!

Bill nodded to himself, proud at his remembering an occurrence so little even though it happened merely minutes ago. This was the kid that ran into him in the hallway! No wonder he didn’t move out of the way like everyone else did. Bill almost forgot that he had to break in the freshman every year before they treated him rightfully: with fear and respect. But mostly fear.

“Shoulder feelin’ alright, kid?” the blonde asked, left elbow on the table and chin rested in his palm to face the human sat to his right. He did bump into him pretty damn hard. Gotta start lessons somewhere, though.

The boy shifted in his seat nervously, left hand holding his shoulder where the pain still persisted. He nodded once, making sure to keep his eyes anywhere but to his left. “Yeah, I’m fine. It was just an accident, _I think_ ,” he made sure to whisper the last part before resuming, “a-and I’m not a kid. I’m 15.”

“Well, to me you’re just a kid. So I’ll call you kid,” Bill retorted, eyes half lidded before they widened slightly at the odd familiarity of the other’s hat. “Or, would you rather I call you Pine Tree?”

“I’d rather you call me Dipper,” the brunette replied, eyes finally turning to meet the others with a glare. Somehow all of his previous fears were beginning to wash away and slowly be replaced with irritation and annoyance.

Bill laughed before patting - or rather slamming his hand on the other’s back, causing Dipper to jerk forward just slightly and cough to collect some of the air that was knocked out of his lungs on impact. Holy hell, this guy was forceful. “Surething Pine Tree!” he mocked. The demon never found himself to be a big fan of calling people by their preferred names. Plus, it was fun to annoy others.

The newly appointed tree shook his head and returned his attention to their teacher, who was very obviously trying to hold back the same anger that the student was. “Anyways class,” he resumed with bite, “Today we’ll simply…”

 

* * *

 

After an agonizing 45 minutes of constant nudges, punches, and grins paired with laughter, Dipper was relieved to finally reunite with this sister to complain to her about the “weird junior with the impossibly perfect teeth,” which he had seen nearly the entire class.

“Oooh la la~,” she replied as they sat in their seats, ready for Algebra 1. “Is he hot? He sounds pretty hot. Confidence is hot and so are perfect teeth!” She grinned widely and used both of her hands to gesture to her smile, teeth now perfectly aligned with each other after years of metal-induced pain. “That’s why I make sure to keep these pearly whites pearly and white! And to be confident about every decision I make! Including my decision to marry Mermando after we graduate.”

“Wait, what?” Dipper asked, unfamiliar with the name. “Who the heck is Mermando?”

“He’s just this super dreamy guy in my spanish class. I swear, his hair is the most perfect thing I’ve ever seen!” she sighed and stared off into space, recollecting her memories from 30 minutes ago.

“Riiiightt.” Well, at least she got over her crush on Landon within two hours. It was almost a new record. “Anyways, the answer to your question is that I won’t answer your question. I don’t really know if guys are hot or not Mabel, I’m not into them and I won’t be no matter how much you try to push me into it.”

“Pssssh, come on bro, I think you’d make a cute wife!” she pinched his now burning cheeks playfully.

“Mabel, not so loud!” He whisper-yelled at her, pulling his hat down on his head to avoid the suspicious glances of the students in the room. “I’m already having a hard time with this and I don’t want it to be any harder!”

“Aww come on, high school bullying isn’t going to be as harsh as you think. Plus, you already made a friend! That’s way better than what you were expecting for your first day.”

“Easy for you to say, you’re like the most charismatic person I know and-- wait, a friend? Who?”

She waved her hand in a circular motion as if the action was going to job Dipper’s memory. “You know, that junior from your latin class? Bill?”

“Bill and I are _not_ friends. He’s a lanky creep who doesn’t understand personal space.”

“That sounds like friendship to me!”

Before the male could reply the bell rang, the sound and pitch of it way worse than what the twins were used to in Piedmont Middle School. Every time they heard it it would leave a high pitched tone in their ear until they focused on the voice of someone else, usually belonging to their teacher as he or she would do the obligatory reading of the class syllabus. Attendance, tests, homework, projects, their attention drifted away into thoughts of the people they had acquainted themselves with in their language classes, one of them having a fonder opinion of their classmate than the other. Mermando was a suave charmer who Mabel learned had a dark secret he couldn’t share, only adding to his mysterious appeal. Bill was an annoying weirdo who was way too open with his opinions and way too comfortable with touching others. But even so… he seemed to have some sort of mystery to him that Dipper couldn’t help but desire to figure out. After all, his favorite hobby _was_ figuring out the anomalies of the sleepy town and with what he had already found up until this point, he wouldn’t be surprised if Bill was some undercover creature or monster of sorts.

The brunette shuttered at the thought that flashed into his mind for merely a second, trying to brush it aside with something more reasonable. A gnome? Absolutely not, he was way too tall and his neck was clearly visible unlike Jeff and co. A vampire? No, it was a pretty bright day and the sun peeked through every window at the school too brightly to allow for that. A ghost? No no, that’s stupid, he wasn’t floating or even remotely transparent.

After each new creature the boy thought of and dismissed, his thoughts led him straight back to the m word. Bill’s eerily wide smile that shouldn’t be physically possible, the way his eyes - or eye - glowed dimly, the pure perfection of his skin, the strange… echo? In his voice?

Dipper shook his head. Did Bill speak with an echo? He was pretty sure he didn’t, but each time he tried to remember the junior speaking, within his mind there was a familiar resonance in his voice. It reminded him of something he had heard once before when he was younger… after...

_Riiiiiiiing!_

“Time for gym!” Mabel yelled as she sprang up in her seat, grabbed her things and ran out without a second thought. The girl adored the class that let her release all of her pent up energy and excitement with little to no risk while her brother despised the class that always made him feel even smaller and scrawnier than he actually was. It didn’t help that the school seemed to have a mixed grade gym class instead of separating the years, so he’d not only be comparing himself to the larger individuals of his own grade, but the much larger individuals of the three grades above him. Dipper sighed, collected his belongings, then slowly followed his sister out, her waiting in front of her locker that was conveniently a few steps away from the classroom. At least they didn’t have to carry heavy textbooks every time they went to the gym that was all the way across the school.

When the two arrived they were surprised to see the large (at least, compared to their other classes) amount of students that littered the area, all separated into smaller groups and hanging off of each other as a gesture of friendship. The brunette did a quick scan over the area counting three, seven, ten, fourteen, fifteen, Candy and Grenda and oh, hey, there went his sister, nineteen, and then twenty one total students excluding himself, frowning at the sight of the last two teens included in his survey. A tall junior who stood one head taller than most and his black haired companion that stood close to the same. Oh boy.

Maybe he wouldn’t notice?

“Hey! Pine Tree!”

Well, fuck.

 

\-- ELOO QBH WKH VFLHQFH JXB. QR ZDLW, WKDW'V MXVW D GHPRQ. --

_(BILL NYE THE SCIENCE GUY. NO WAIT, THAT'S JUST A DEMON.)_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter ended up getting away from me and I ended up hitting more than twice the amount of words I'd like to keep each chapter at, so I'm splitting it into two parts. In order to give me a bit more time to write the next chapter I'll be posting the second part tomorrow, so sorry if this chapter feels a bit cut off.
> 
> I didn't draw anything for this chapter specifically, so just take this random doodle kid Dipper and the triangle-head Bill my friend and I have dubbed "TriangBill."
> 
> http://radiofalls.tumblr.com/post/133038463920/the-weathers-getting-colder-but-the-shippings
> 
> If you have anything you'd like to submit, my ask box is open and I have the tumblr chat, so shoot me a message or tag me @RadioFalls and I'll make sure to include it. I'm going to post at least one drawing or doodle per chapter as a kind of a challenge to myself, but the drawing may not always be one of my own.


	4. "See you in your nightmares, kid."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The second part of last chapter, since together they were 6500 words and way too long.  
> Seriously though you guy's comments bring such a warm feeling to my heart, I love you all so much. ;-;

Dipper scratched at his arm a bit, unmoving as the blonde waltz over to him using his long legs to make the journey short and easy. As soon as he got close enough, Bill bent over to meet the freshman at eye level and plastered a wide grin onto his face. “Fancy seeing you again so soon, kid. How’s ya shoulder treating you now that some time passed?” As the older teen spoke Mabel, Candy, and Grenda began to edge themselves closer to the two, ears, eyes, and grins wide as they listened in.

“Again, Bill, I’m fine,” Dipper replied sharply, desperately wanting to avoid spending another 45 minutes being harassed by the upperclassman even if it meant having to lie about the bruise that was probably forming under his shirt.

“Oooooh~? So, you’re saying if I did _this_ \--” the blonde lifted one of his fingers and quickly jabbed at the shorter boy’s shoulder, causing him to jerk back a few steps and wince in pain, “it wouldn’t hurt you at all? Hmmmm~? Cause that seems like a lie. And I don’t like it when I’m lied to.” As he spoke the last sentence his smile turned into a grimace, as if reinforcing his statement. “D҉o͟ ͜you un̕d̛erstand́ wha̶t҉ ̸I'm̧ ̵saying̸,͏ ҉Pin̕e͝ ͘T͟re͡e?̕”

Dipper bit down on his bottom lip and took another step back, a familiar feeling swelling within him reminiscent to the fear he felt in the hallway. As if compelled to agree, he nodded his head three times in quick succession and watched as Bill’s face returned to its trademark grin.

“Good.” The blonde stood up straight again and took two steps forward to reach the other, placing his hand atop the brunette’s head and rubbing his hair gently. Ignoring Dipper’s sharp flinch, Bill continued to speak. “I’d hate to have to punish you for such things, Pine Tree. I’d much rather punish you for something else. Something more entertaining for the both of us.”

“Wait, wha-”

“HELLLOOO _OOOO_ STUDENTS!” A loud voice boomed throughout the gym, causing every teen in the room to stop mid sentence and turn towards the source. Standing in front of the hall leading into the changing rooms was a tall, bulky man with bright red hair and an even brighter smile. Although he was most likely a teacher, he dressed as casually as the students did, sporting a plain t-shirt, black jeans, velcro shoes, and a plaid jacket that was wrapped loosely around his waist. Some of the teens recognised him immediately and began to chant his strange nickname as he closed the distance between himself and the now gathering group of students.

“Go-go! Go-go! Go-go!”

“Yeeahah! Mister Go-GO! Right on!”

Dipper couldn’t help but scrunch his eyebrows in confusion, not knowing which perplexed him more: the nickname or the person it belonged to. He was obviously well liked by the students unlike most of the others teacher in the school, and it didn’t take long for the boy to figure out why. His smile and laughter were contagious, and Dipper could practically feel excitement and energy swell up within him as the red-head spoke.

“Hey there folk,” he pointed both thumbs to himself and smiled, “the name’s Orion Park, but as you can tell, most of you guys seem to call me Go-go. Can’t say I know why but hell, if it’s cause my ass is anywhere near as fine as that character from _Big Good Guy Six_ then I ain’t complainin’.” A few students laughed in response and threw a few jokingly snarky remarks back his way, causing him to snicker a few times before responding. “Anyways, I’m supposed to take this time to tell you guys what we’re going to be doing in this class but that’s kind of pointless. It’s gym! Ya change into your uniform, run around for 30 minutes, then change back into your normal clothes all sweaty and gross! Why bother? Instead, I’m just going to assign you all uniforms and we’ll just sit on the floor on our phones until class ends or something. If someone asks, we’re doing a group exercise. Make it believable.”

Excited and relieved, the students all sat down where they stood and pulled out their phones, a few joining Go-go for friendly banter. He talked to the students casually, interrupting himself every few words to call out a name and chuck a packaged uniform over to them, yellow uniforms for the men and brown uniforms for the women to represent the school colors.

Dipper frowned when he received his.

Sure, he had to admit that yellow wasn’t the most complimenting color on him and brown looked better but that didn’t take away from the fact that he was mistakenly given the wrong color uniform.

“Uh, mister Park?” the boy started after crawling over on his hands and knees to his still sitting teacher, not wanting to make himself stand out by standing up. “There seems to be some kind of mistake with my uniform. I’m, uh,” he scratched the back of his head awkwardly, “I’m... not a girl.”

“Well of course you’re not, Dipper!” his teacher replied without a second thought, causing the student’s eyes to open a little wider in the surprise of a teacher knowing his name on the _first day of school_. Go-go obviously enjoyed what he did and made an effort to help others enjoy it as well. The redhead grinned widely before continuing, “but it’s not uncommon for some male freshmen to be assigned a female’s uniform for a while. We don’t have sizes small enough to compensate for some of you still growin’ young men, so you guys gotta deal with the brown uniforms until you grow out of them! Rest assured though, you’ll grow fast. Usually gotta replace uniforms for you all after the first semester ends.”

Somehow, with the way his teacher talked, Dipper felt relieved and all of his worry faded away. Go-go had a way with words and reassurance, that’s for damn sure. “Alright then, thank you,” he responded with a small, genuine smile before crawling back to join his sister and her friends. This was definitely going to be an enjoyable class.

“So, spill the beans Dip-Dop,” Mabel prodded after his return. “What’s the deal with you and that hot junior? Is that Bill? Is that the guy you get to sit next to in Latin? Damn, I should've signed up for that class after all. Oh! But then I wouldn’t have met Mermando. Hmm...”

He chuckled as his sister rambled on before he finally interrupted her with an answer. “Yeah, that’s Bill,” he glanced over to his right where the junior and his friend were sitting, “and believe me, you _don’t_ want to be in a class with him. I’ve known the guy for less than a day and he’s already hit me more times than I can count on my fingers. I know freshman are the bottom of the barrel and all but sheesh, didn’t expect it to be so bad right off the bat.”

His sister looked at him in disbelief and concern as she spoke. “He… hits you?”

“No no, he didn’t punch me or anything if that’s what you’re thinking,” Dipper responded with his hands held up to his chest, palms facing outward, “he’s just nudging me, bumping into me, and playfully - at least, I think it’s playfully, I’m not really sure - hitting my arm every now and then. I guess it’s kinda like what you do with me, except about twice as hard and half as apologetic when it actually hurts.”

“Awwwww~,” Mabel sighed with a gentle smile on her face and both her hands together on her right cheek, “He’s _flirting_ with you! That’s _adorable_!”

“Mabel, your concept of flirting worries me. How is hitting me flirting with me?”

“Well, you know how in kindergarten some boys will bully the ones they like cause they can’t express their feelings? It’s gotta be like that!”

Dipper shook his head and rolled his eyes once. “This isn’t kindergarten, and you’re wrong. There’s no way what he’s doing is flirting. It’s bullying. Look! He’s doing it right now!” He gestured over to the two teens who were now joined by a third, much younger one who looked on the verge of tears. Bill had the bottom of his shoe firm on the youngest one’s face and the black haired one was taking pictures on his phone, the two of them laughing a storm. Dipper turned his head to look at Go-go, who was watching the situation with distraught eyes and fists clenched. He sat there for a long period of time, simply watching as the two juniors humiliated the younger boy to tears.

Why wasn’t he stopping them? There was no way that kind of behavior was allowed, and Gogo being the friendly guy that he was surely didn’t enjoy watching the pain of the young one. All he would have to do is yell at them and send them off to get in trouble… so why wasn’t he?

Gogo bit his lip before standing and smacking his hands together loudly enough for it to echo within the large gymnasium. “Alright, students, how about we spend the rest of class introducing ourselves?” He forced out a laugh and gestured for everyone to gather closer, causing Bill and Goku to stop their actions and edge closer to the group, everyone sitting as far away from the two as possible. “I’ll start. I already said my name was Orion Park, but what I didn’t say is that I’m 24, love singing 80’s pop hits, the carpet _does_ match the drapes, and that I’m single and ready to mingle. Though, it’s not like I would date any of you,” he interjected, “that’s illegal and I’m not about that prison life.” The students laughed, lightening the room in the atmosphere successfully before the next student introduced themselves, then the next, then the next.

Dipper was amazed at his teacher’s ability to lift spirits in such a situation.

 _‘It’s not that he wouldn’t stop them…’_ he thought to himself, finally realizing what was happening. _‘It’s that he couldn’t.’_ The brunette’s mind went back to the similar interaction with Bill and Mr. Strange, his teacher unable to command his student to address him properly and simply ignoring the junior’s constant mid-class remarks and rude gestures that would get anyone else kicked out. Were the teachers as afraid of the him as the students seemed to be? What kind of person could have that kind of power? That kind of influence?

Again, the boy’s eyes drifted to right to where Bill and Goku were sitting, only this time Bill was looking directly back. He swiftly jerked his head down to break the eye contact, but even though his eyes were averted, Dipper could still feel the other looking at him, wearing that eerie grin that could send shivers down anyone’s spine. It was like he was constantly plotting something devious, constantly thinking of ways to amuse himself, constantly figuring out ways to bend the world around him to his will.

Which was all completely accurate.

The class went on for another 20 minutes before the bell rang, interrupting the introductions and signaling the beginning of both the first lunch period and the fifth class period. “Let’s hurry, Mabel” the boy requested in a hushed tone in a desperate attempt to get away from the eyes that were seemingly enthralled with him. He stood, grabbed his sister’s wrist and bolted out, a wave of relief hitting him after leaving the large room.

“Sheesh bro, what’s got you all riled up? Heart can’t take being stared out by eyes of _love~_?” She grinned from ear to ear and nudged her elbow against Dipper’s side.

“If by eyes of love you mean eyes that look like they’re holding back an _overwhelming desire to kill_ then yes. My heart can’t take that.” His sister just laughed a few times, disregarding the statement before leading the two into the small food court area where the school’s lunches were served. They both went through the line and customised their trays - Mabel’s being as colorful as possible with fruits and candy and Dipper’s being more reserved with neutral shades. Together they sat, Candy and Grenda joining them shortly after. The girls all squealed together in excitement of sharing the same lunch and the boy stared quietly, one of his hands supporting the weight of his head and the other hand holding a fork that dug through the slop in front of him. ‘ _Would be nice,_ ’ he thought as he watched them longingly, ‘ _to have someone to talk to like tha_ \--’

“Well hey again Pine Tree!”

‘ _...I revoke my statement._ ’

“Hey there… Bill,” Dipper responded nervously, unable to stop the other from simply plopping down next to him and making himself comfortable. “So. We uh. Have the same lunch it looks like.”

A huff of air escaped the blonde’s nose as a laugh. “Nah. I was assigned second lunch but I always just choose whichever one has more people I’m interested in. It’s not like anyone tries to stop me.” He grinned and locked his fingers together, resting his chin on them and his elbows on the table. “Or can stop me. But hey, by the looks of it, this’ll be the lunch I choose, so consider yourself lucky, kid. Your pal Bill will keep you company!”

Oh, wonderful. Just what he needed. “That’s great...” Dipper replied with false sincerity in his voice, not wanting to anger the upperclassman. If there was anything he’d already learned at the school it was to not upset Bill freaking Cipher. He wasn’t sure why, and he wasn’t sure when it started, but he knew from his experiences and the concerned stares of those in the cafeteria that the blonde was someone who controlled others through sheer fear and power. Although the boy wasn’t one for groveling, he had to admit he’d much rather be on Bill’s good side rather than be a target. “So… where’s your friend?”

Bill blinked. Or was it a wink? The boy honestly couldn’t tell due to the older male’s second eye being covered. “My friend?”

“Yeah, uh, the one with the black hair and the neck tattoo.”

“Aaah, Goku. He’s in second lunch. Just another reason I’d rather sit through this one.”

A pique of interest. “Aren’t you two friends? You seemed to be having fun together… earlier…” he trailed off, regretting bringing the topic back up after Go-go had so skillfully intervened.

Bill didn’t seem to notice. “Yeah, sure, we have our fun together but the guy’s still a pathetic sack of meat. Doesn’t know how to go a day without sticking his dick in something. I swear the fourteenth wonder of the world is how he hasn’t contracted something yet.”

Fourteen? Dipper ignored the last statement. “Aren’t there only seven wonders? Or are you just making some kind of joke I’m going to feel dumb for not getting?”

The blonde laughed and brought his hand back up to rub the top of Dipper’s head the same way he did earlier. “Oh, Pine Tree, you’re adorable! You may not have been in this town very long but surely you’ve seen the shit that happens around here. Do you really think there’s only seven wonders in the world?”

Ignoring the first statement, the boy had to admit Bill was right. A world with a copying machine that could clone humans, video game characters that could come to life, and crystals that could shrink and grow things with light wouldn’t have just seven world wonders. Why hadn’t he thought of it before?

“Oh, Bill!” Mabel exclaimed, finally noticing the newest member of their lunch group, “What a surprise to see you here! A good surprise, may I add.”

“Sorry,” his eyes glanced down at her sweater, “Shooting Star. Do I know you?” he replied coldly, showing obvious disinterest in the girl speaking to him that she either didn’t notice or chose to ignore.

“Name’s Mabel! I’m that guy’s alpha twin sister!” she pointed to Dipper, jabbing her index finger into his cheek.

“Mabel, for the last time, you’re not the alpha twin just cause you’re 3/4th of an inch taller than me. There’s way more to it than tha--”

“Alpha twin! Alpha twin!”

Bill grinned in amusement at Dipper’s frustrated expression. Explaining things to his sister was never an easy task, especially when she didn’t want to listen. It took the boy a few moments to give up and return his attention to the junior - or rather, the empty space in front of the junior.

“Are you not going to eat?” he asked with a slight hint of legitimate concern peeking through his overall just small talk of a question.

“I have no interest in that,” was all the other responded. An array of questions flooded into the brunette’s mind, though only one escaped his lips.

“Guess you’re not hungry?” Ah. ‘ _Great. Freaking great, Dipper. You could have asked him anything meaningful like, “Can you not afford it?” or “Don’t like the food here?” or even something like “Guess your kind doesn’t eat human food?” and you roll with that question of all things? No wonder Mabel’s the social butterfly and you’re stuck in your awkward little cocoon._ ’

Bill sat still and quiet as the boy sitting next to him scratched his head with both hands, the internal struggle within him showing clearly on his face. Patiently, he waited until the brunette collected himself, then answered truthfully with a, “I don’t get hungry for such subsidence,” purposely leaving even more questions to be asked and watched in amusement and Dipper’s internal crisis reappeared. After about twenty seconds of silence, a loud _splechh_ grabbed everyone’s attention.

“You can have some of my mashed potatoes if you want, Bill,” Mabel sang, using two spoons to lift a large amount of potatoes off of her plate and straight onto the table in front of the blonde. After placing the spoons back down she reached into her back pocket and pulled out a small bottle of edible glitter, generously pouring a large amount on top of the mush like gravy, then stabbed a clean spoon into it and gave a thumbs up. “Mabel a-la-tatoes!”

The junior stared down onto the spot of him quietly, no expression worn on his face as he evaluated the potatoes.

“Oh god Mabel, that’s gross,” Dipper joked, sticking his tongue out at her in disgust. Growing up with the girl made it easier for him to deal with her strange antics, but he wasn’t completely sure if someone else - especially this someone - would give her a hard time about it. His eyes slowly drifted to observe the face of the blonde who was now… smiling?

Bill chuckled to himself, gradually getting louder and louder until finally he burst into a hearty laughter, startling a few nearby students enough to make them jerk back in unison. As he laughed he held his chest with one hand and wiped his eye with the other, trying to contain himself but inevitably failing and started to laugh even harder until eventually it died off into little hiccups of hot air. “You, you guys--” he tried to manage between breaths, “You guys are so interesting, to say the least. Mabel a-la-tatoes? That’s genius! And, and you--” he looked at Dipper with a wide grin, “little Pine Tree, still a sapling, too small for the forest and the uniforms the forest receives.” His laughter continued after Dipper’s face flushed a bright red out of a mixture of embarrassment and anger.

“Y-You heard that?!” he exclaimed through a whisper, not wanting to gain any attention from the entire cafeteria of people who were _looking straight at them_. “How is that even possible? You were halfway across the gym and talking to your friend!”

“Kid, I have eyes and ears everywhere. Nothing goes said without me knowing about it. A little tree like you would crumble over by the weight of what I know.”

Dipper pouted and crossed his arms. “You didn’t even know what my name was when we met. Or my sister’s. Hell, do you even know the name of my sister’s two friends?”

Bill rolled his eyes and crept into a smirk, leaning forward closer to Dipper before responding. “Dipper and Mabel Pines. 15 years of age. Moved here two months ago. Grand niece and nephew of Mister Mystery, aka Stan Pines. You two spend a lot of time investigating the anomalies of this town.” The brunette was quiet, eyes widened with a worry that delighted Bill. His eyes moved over to the two girls who were staring with the same expression. “Candy Chiu and Grenda Faruolo. Been best friends since Candy moved here in third grade. Candy’s an expert of geography and Grenda’s the gal to go to if you wanna learn how to suplex.” His lidded eyes drifted back over to Dipper. “Any more questions, kid?”

“I… but…” the boy was flabbergasted, overwhelmed with questions and emotions, Bill answering one of them right away.

“It’s not that I don’t know the answer when I ask people things. It’s just more entertaining to feign ignorance and see where that leads me. Why? Well, that’s none of your business. I just don’t like the feeling of boredom.” The blonde stood after speaking and stretched his legs out from under the table. While looking straight into Dipper’s still widened mocha eyes, he ran his thumb through the mashed potato and glitter mixture in front of him and licked it off with a pointed tongue that matched the eerie smirk on his face perfectly. “Until next time,” he purred, sending shivers down the brunette’s spine before walking away. “See you in your nightmares, kid.”

And then the bell rang.

 

\-- L VKRXOG PDNH VRPH PDEOH-D-OD-WDWRHV. --

_(I SHOULD MAKE SOME MABEL-A-LA-TATOES.)_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haha! Bet you wish you had a teacher like Go-go, don't you? Orion, the actual character that my friend let me borrow, is a really funny dude and we agreed he's way too lazy to be a gym teacher, so I decided that makes it even better for him TO be the gym teacher. 
> 
> Anyways, here's yo promised BillDip, felluhs:
> 
> http://radiofalls.tumblr.com/post/133097168505/sleep-well-little-sapling-you-know-that-thing
> 
> Working on the next chapter now, thank you guys again for all the kudo's and comments. <3


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